Macungies

I've been giving Upper and Lower Macungie township officials and even some of their residents a hard time lately. Here and here are a couple of the more recent examples.

I make no apologies for this, since they richly deserved it. But when I see something positive happening, I want to make sure I point that out, too. And I'm seeing encouraging trends in Upper Macungie.

The first is important, both as a practical matter and as a symbolic gesture. With the departure of ethics-challenged supervisors Porter Krisher and Tom Gorr, the two remaining supervisors have changed the meeting time. The board used to meet at 6 p.m., making it impossible for many working people to attend. Now they're joining most other municipalities by meeting at 7.

One hour may not seem like a big deal to you. But to me, it changes the signal from "we're working here; don't bother us!" to "Welcome!" I much prefer the latter.

Even more significantly, I'm told that at least nine residents applied to fill the Krisher opening on the board. That's a terrific response.

The best breeding ground for official corruption is an apathetic community. That list -- which includes at least a couple of people whom I recognize as excellent candidates -- tells me that people in Upper Macungie want to seize control of their government and clean it up.

Of course, there's no guarantee that the two remaining supervisors will choose the best person when they meet at 7 tonight. But I feel a lot more confident about that than I would have a year ago.